This little guy or girl comes by my backyard every day and raids my two bird feeders, sometimes with the help of another squirrel. Because it has sarcoptic mange, I’ve been concerned about its winter survival.

You can treat mange with ivermectin, selamectin, or any of the avermectins. These are insecticides that kill mites and other parasites (some internal worms, too) in pets and livestock.

Left without treatment, this squirrel will suffer fur loss and diminished immunity, not to mention being driven mad with the itching. It will also lose out on time better spent food gathering and stashing.

Finally, there’s an increased risk of transmitting it to other animals and species. I certainly don’t want this, though I’m not sure if mites that affect squirrels also affect birds.

A long time ago, now, my dog Daisy died and couldn’t take her HartGard pills with her on her journey, I took one of the pills, shaved off a slice, and slathered it in peanut butter. I put one out on the patio about a month ago, hoping the right squirrel would take it. Then, I started occasionally feeding it a tidbit or two to get it used to me. Then I was able to treat it more directly.

The mange cleared up, but in the past week, it has come back. Probably the eggs in the nest have hatched and new juvenile and adult mites have latched on. So I followed up with a second treatment. Of course, the squirrel has stopped running away when I open the patio door, because it knows something edible is going to come flying out and land somewhere in the garden. Sure enough, it made a beeline for it today!

black squirrel
This was Buddy, the black girl squirrel

I had friends in the suburbs who used to feed a black squirrel. They named it Buddy, and it would come right up to them every day. Then Buddy disappeared – for a little while. It turned out Buddy was a new mom, and she brought her babies around to visit.

While the squirrels I’ve befriended (that is, provided drugs, nuts, water, and a house for) have been bold about coming around to me, usually they aren’t so bold with their babies. But over the years, friendliness (sporadic for their own good) means there’s a moment of mutual recognition when we meet each other in the garden, or on either side of the patio door.

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